Stone Guest

v1.0 · February 2026
About TSG

The Stone Guest (TSG) is a lightweight input-logging tool used in a study on translation processes. By recording how translators interact with their computer, the research aims to understand cognitive and behavioural patterns during professional translation tasks.

The tool runs quietly in the background while you work. It does not capture your screen, audio, or video.

The name & its origin
El burlador de Sevilla
y convidado de piedra
The Trickster of Seville and the Stone Guest

The play is the earliest fully developed dramatisation of the Don Juan legend — the archetypal seducer who mocks divine justice and is ultimately dragged to hell by the animated stone statue of a man he murdered. The "stone guest" of the title is that statue: an uninvited dinner companion who comes to collect a debt no mortal court could enforce.

The legend has since inspired Mozart's Don Giovanni (1787), Molière's Dom Juan, Pushkin's verse drama, and countless literary retellings. The image of the stone guest — impassive, silent, irresistible — became one of Western literature's most enduring figures of reckoning.

The research tool borrows the name as a quiet metaphor: an unintrusive observer that records without intervening — present, but never heard.
Ethics clearance

Stone Guest and its associated communication component (Zulip) have been reviewed and approved as ethically compliant by the Ethics Committee of Yıldız Technical University, Istanbul, Türkiye.

Decision No. YTU-SBE-ETIK-2026-03 · March 2, 2026
Download
⊞
Windows
Windows 10 / 11 · Python auto-installed
Download .zip
⌘
macOS
macOS 11 Big Sur or later · Python auto-installed
Download .zip
Each download includes

⊞ Windows Setup

  1. Extract the .zip to any folder.
  2. Double-click install_windows.bat and wait for it to finish.
  3. Double-click Run Stone Guest.bat to start a session.
  4. Read and accept the on-screen consent form.
  5. Enter your Participant ID when prompted (first run only).
If Windows Defender shows a SmartScreen warning, click "More info" → "Run anyway". The tool is safe; it is unsigned because it is a research prototype.

⌘ macOS Setup

  1. Extract the .zip to any folder.
  2. Run the installer — choose one of the two options below:
    Option A — Terminal
    1. Open Terminal (Applications → Utilities → Terminal).
    2. Type bash (include the space after bash).
    3. Drag install_mac.command into the Terminal window.
    4. Press Enter.
    Option B — System Settings
    1. Try to double-click install_mac.command (it will fail — this step is needed to register the file with macOS).
    2. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security.
    3. Scroll down until you see a message about "install_mac.command was blocked".
    4. Click Open Anyway and enter your password if prompted.
  3. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility and enable Stone Guest.
  4. Double-click Run Stone Guest.command to start.
  5. Read and accept the on-screen consent form.
The Accessibility permission is required so the tool can detect key presses system-wide. No data leaves your computer.
Visual walkthroughs
After the study — Removing Stone Guest

⊞ Windows

  1. Stop any running session with Ctrl+Alt+X, or close the terminal window.
  2. Delete the entire StoneGuest_Windows folder you extracted. This removes all scripts and your local log files.
  3. If Python was installed solely for this study, open Settings → Apps, find Python 3.x, and uninstall it.
  4. No registry entries or hidden files are left behind.
Back up your log files first if you want to keep a personal copy before deleting the folder.

⌘ macOS

  1. Stop any running session with ⌃+⌥+X, or close the Terminal window.
  2. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility and remove Stone Guest from the list.
  3. Drag the StoneGuest_macOS folder to the Trash and empty it.
  4. If Python was installed solely for this study, run brew uninstall python in Terminal, or remove the python.org package from /Library/Frameworks/Python.framework.
Back up your log files first if you want to keep a personal copy before deleting the folder.
Keyboard shortcuts
Ctrl+Alt+P · ⌃+⌥+P
Pause / Resume recording
Ctrl+Alt+X · ⌃+⌥+X
Stop and save log
Your rights as a participant
Data & privacy

What is recorded

  • Keystroke timings (key codes, no characters)
  • Mouse click positions and timings
  • Application focus changes
  • Session start, pause, resume, and stop events

What is never recorded

  • Key characters or typed text content
  • Passwords or clipboard contents
  • Screen capture, audio, or video
  • Browsing history or file contents
  • Your name or any personal identifier
All data is saved locally on your computer. Nothing is transmitted automatically. You share log files manually, only when you choose to, through the study's communication channel.
Frequently asked questions
No. Both installer scripts check for Python automatically and install it if missing. On Windows the installer downloads the official Python 3 package; on macOS it uses Homebrew or the python.org installer.
Yes — Stone Guest runs silently in the background and has no visible window after startup. It uses minimal CPU and memory. You can use any application, switch tasks, and work as usual.
Press Ctrl+Alt+P (Windows/Linux) or ⌃+⌥+P (macOS) to pause recording instantly. Press the same combination again to resume. Events during a pause are never written to the log.
Inside the Stone Guest folder you extracted, in a subfolder named logs/. The file is named ParticipantID_SessionNumber_session_log.csv and is a plain text file you can open in Excel or any text editor.
The researcher will provide instructions via the study's communication channel (Zulip). You will upload the .csv file from the logs/ folder there. Nothing is sent automatically.
Yes. Each time you launch Stone Guest a new log file is created with an incremented session number (e.g. P01_001, P01_002). Your Participant ID is saved after the first run and reused automatically.
Principal investigator Serhat Kahyaoglu
Email serhat.kahyaoglu@yahoo.com